Marie-Ange, Programme Funding

I convert Government promises into legally binding agreements so that the money starts flowing into Gavi

"If someone is working in the corporate environment I will say come and you will feel at ease."

My name is Marie-Ange.

Gavi last year raised 4.3 billion US dollars, my job has been to convert these promises into legally binding agreements so that the money starts flowing in and I’m pleased to say that we’ve gotten already 80% of the money so that’s why I say it’s rewarding and the results are there.

Actually I come from Cote d’Ivoire. I was born there in West Africa and then grew-up in Brazil and then studied in France and the US.

One of the attractions of Gavi is that I could work for public and private partnerships and be able to get money from both sides at the same time. I come from a finance background and typically financiers, we are not that keen about Foundations because we think ‘okay we raise money and we generate the money, we generate income and foundations spend money’ and when you arrive here you realise ‘hmm that’s very different’. There’s really this focus and resolve on improving and being efficient on trying to get the very best.

It’s an institution that has shown that they can have an impact in a very short period of time and doing it by leveraging on the value skills of its staff but also of its Alliance members, so drawing the very best out of the public and the private but also out own people.

If someone is working in the corporate environment I will say come and you will feel at ease, really.

Since 2007, countries have immunised 32 million children with a second dose of measles vaccine with Gavi support. Gavi- funded measles campaigns have helped vaccinate another 118 million children in countries at high risk of outbreaks.